O'Shaquie Foster wins WBC super featherweight title with unanimous decision against Rey Vargas
- Planet Sport writer
- 12 February 2023
O’Shaquie Foster won his first world title after beating Rey Vargas by unanimous decision.
The fight was scored 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109 to leave little doubt who the deserved to take the WBC super featherweight belt home.
The win continues a savage run of 10 straight wins for Foster since he suffered his second loss way back in 2016.
"Dedication and hard work. I've got a great team around me, and just getting away from the distractions, getting myself mentally and physically right, and now I'm on top, man. It's crazy," Foster said after the win.
Vargas ran into trouble by not adjusting correctly to the fact that he did not have the reach advantage. Admittedly, it is not something the tall boxer often has to deal with but he was found sorely lacking on this occasion.
"My coach just kept telling me, 'Pick it up, he's ready to go.' We couldn't get him out but I just wanted to pick it up in the later rounds and not make it close," Foster said.
"I didn't think it was close, but my coaches stayed on me to not let off the gas, not make it close. I wanted to close the show."
Asked what he'd do next, Foster said, "I would love to unify, but I think we've got two mandatories we've got to fulfill. But (Hector Luis) Garcia or (Emanuel) Navarrete, the winner of (Joe) Cordina and (Shavkat Rakhimov). I feel I can beat anybody."
"We have to respect the judges. I felt it was a much closer fight, but that's their decision," Vargas said via an interpreter. "The weight might have been a little difficult, maybe the power's a little different. But I said from the beginning, it's more the legs and stuff."
